[Thiess1343]

I just nwant to know who started st patricks day and why?

[nitrogen7]

The Mysteries Behind St. Patrick's Day Customs

March 17th is a holy day in Ireland, the Feast Day of St. Patrick, which memorializes his death circa 461 A.D. It is believed this holiday's popularity grew quickly because it offers a one-day break from Lent, a 40-day observance that culminates in Easter, a high holy day for Christians.

Ireland's patron saint was not Irish, but English. As a child, he was kidnapped from the estate of his wealthy parents and forced into slavery in Ireland. Renamed Patrick, he labored mostly as a shepherd. After six years, he escaped and returned to his native country. His harsh life experience profoundly changed the boy, and he became a deeply religious young man and entered the priesthood more than a decade later. He had a dream in which God spoke to him, telling him to return to Ireland.

The priest returned, determined to convert the Irish to Christianity leaving behind their pagan worship of Celtic gods and superstitions. One legend recounts Patrick using the shamrock, a plant with three leaves, to teach Irish country folk an easy way to remember the Holy Trinity. Irish scholars believe the legend that St. Patrick drove the snakes from Ireland is symbolic, not literal. Indeed, because there are no snakes in Ireland, scholars think the "snakes" referred to are evil pagan practices - depicted as serpents, one of the ultimate Christian symbols of evil - being driven out of pre-Christian Ireland by its foremost Christian missionary.

Wearing a green ribbon or shamrock to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, also referred to as "St. Paddy's Day" or "Paddy's Day," dates back to the 17th century. The song, "The Wearin' of the Green," was a popular street ballad sung by supporters of The Society of United Irishmen, who were against British rule of Ireland. Singing about "the wearing of the green" in the "old country" later became actually wearing the green in America after large number of Irish immigrants moved here.

The custom of pinching someone who does not wear green on St. Patrick's Day seems to have originated with Boston schoolchildren in the early 18th century. Those not wearing green received a pinch in admonishment. Were they were hiding the fact that they were Irish by not wearing green? Hiding one's Irish heritage was probably out of fear of being bullied or mistreated.

A potato famine in Ireland during the 1840s resulted in millions of Irish people migrating in large numbers to the United States, Canada and Australia. The acceptance of Irish Americans grew as they became part of the American mainstream. They became a unified political force in many American cities, particularly Boston and New York City. A symbol of widespread acceptance for many Irish Americans occurred in 1960 with the election of John F. Kennedy, an Irish American and Roman Catholic, who was the 35th president of the United States.

Today, cities across the United States celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and people of every ethnic origin not only wear green, but the rivers and beer flow green in many locales. To learn more about St. Patrick’s Day